Christian Moller reviews the "Lee Falk's Phantom" - History of the Phantom in Germany book by Christian Blees'. "Lee Falk's Phantom" is a reference work not only for Phantom fans, but for anyone interested in comics. Christian Moller goes through the book in great detail. If you are still umming and ahhing about the book, watch this video and let it change your mind. Please note that the special edition edition has been sold out. If you want one, you may have to use eBay to find your copy. Softcover Size: 17 x 24 cm 244 colored pages Regular Price: €29.95 Special Edition Price: €39.95 More information Buy Now The first part (called Roots and Sources) deals with the publication history and origins of the character in the U.S.A., including chapters not only on the different artists (not the ones which came after Sy Barry, though, as his stories were the last ones printed in Germany), but also on the different comic book publishers and their issues, authors and artists. Then come the Swedish and Italian publishers/issues of which quite a lot (about 90 from Italy and 150 from Sweden) later were reprinted by Bastei in their Phantom comic books and digests. In the second part (The Phantom in Germany) it tells the (more or less) complete story of how and when The Phantom appeared in Germany, including the daily strips in the newspapers (and also the novels). Sometimes the focus on particular stories, showing how the German editors edited (and sometimes complete rewrote!) stories from the U.S., Sweden and Italy for their different publications. The third part is called Paths Through the Jungle and has 20 different tables that cover ALL PHANTOM STORIES EVER PUBLISHED IN GERMAN LANGUAGE, telling which story was published when and in which publication under which title, and if (and how much) it was edited. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

Our newest reviewer and member of Chronicle Chamber Christian Moller reviews the Zauberstern #2 featuring the following stories: "The Ghost and the Monster Part 2" by Andrew Constant and Giancarlo Caracuzzo "The Vanished Village" by Lee Falk, George Olesen and Fred Fredericks A brilliant cover by Timo Wuerz with the last part of "The Ghost and the Monster" originally published by Frew. This story is created by Andrew Constant and Giancarlo Caracuzzo and is from the Frew Publications company. Chronicle Chamber has reviewed this story when it first featured in a Frew graphic novel here. The second story is a classic story and provides a great balance to appeal to traditional phans but also those who like newly created stories. All Zauberstern and other German comic reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

Hidden away on the Egmont Kids website we have found details of the Norwegian 2022 Christmas Album which has been released. EDIT: Thanks to Egmont Fantomet editor Hege Høiby they have sent us the cover for this year's annual which is below. It keeps the 2021 landscape design which was popular among many phans. The link to the original anouncement can be found here and the contents are: “The Golden Sands of Keela-Wee” by Lee Falk and Sy Barry “The Imaginary Playmate” by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy “The Llongo Forest” by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley The cover is first seen here but we have no release date as of yet and there is also no official word if these stories will be printed in colour. However if we had to guess, we suggest the stories will be in colour as they were in 2021. Eagle eyed phans will know that re-coloured versions exist and have been posted Ivan Pederson's Phantom News Facebook page previously. Ivan has done great colouring for both Fantomet and Frew before. “The Llongo Forest” will be a new never before published story for the Fantomet readers. If all stories are published in colour as we expect, it will be the first time “The Imaginary Playmate” would be printed in colour in Norway. It was first published in Fantomet 6/1968 and later in the book series “Fantomets krønike” and “Fantomet kronologisk” all in black and white. “The Golden Sands of Keela-Wee” has not been published for 20+ years and the third time published in Fantomet comic books. The first time was in Fantomet #22/1971 and lastly in colour in Fantomet #10/2001. From what we understand the 2021 album was successful with sales hence why we are getting another for 2022. Did you buy a copy of the 2021 Christmas album and will you be buying the 2022 album? Thanks to Egmont Fantomet editor Hege Høiby for a copy of the cover and Ivan Pederson for the scans from his Facebook page.

Our new reviewer and member of Chronicle Chamber Christian Moller reviews the Wick Publications #1 featuring the following stories: "Die Todeskralle" ("The Claw of Death") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla "Die Sklaven" ("The Slaves") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla You have to purchase these from the publisher directly, you can contact Ulrich Wick via his website. A great cover by Ertuğrul Edirne who is a Turkish cover artist currently living in Germany. These stories originally featured on the Büyülü Çizgi Roman Turkish series. Some highlights of this publication series are the paper and print quality. To learn more about these comics and stories being produced by Wick, we suggest you read these articles: Interview with the publisher Ulrich Wick The contents of the 12 comics in the series All Wick Publication comics and other German comic reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics and products being released around the world, please contact us.

Christian Moller reviews the Wick Publications #2 which features the following stories: "Die Spione von Paris" ("The Spies from Paris") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla "Die Göttin des Todesvulkans" ("The Goddess of the Volcano") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla These stories were originally published in Bastei issues #209 and #229. Of course this printing and production is much better. You have to purchase these from the publisher directly, you can contact Ulrich Wick via his website. A great cover by Ertuğrul Edirne who is a Turkish cover artist currently living in Germany. These stories originally featured on the Büyülü Çizgi Roman Turkish series. Some highlights of this publication series are the paper and print quality. The print run is smaller than most comic of only 700 copies. To learn more about these comics and stories being produced by Wick, we suggest you read these articles: Interview with the publisher Ulrich Wick The contents of the 12 comics in the series All Wick Publication comics and other German comic reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics and products being released around the world, please contact us.

Hands up if you ever brought a Phantom showbag back in the day? In the early 1990's, The Phantom and showbags went together like corn dog at a fair or popcorn at the movies and it was part of the reason why the character became so popular in Australia. Thanks to Frew, they are now back. This is not just a bag full of old reject newsagent comics but full of Phantom goodies with stickers, comics, bookmarks, mask and more. These showbags are going to be at the Royal Queensland Show now called 'Ekka' thanks to "Preserver Haven". Unsure if every showbag will be the same but here is what at least one will look like. As you can see there is no new Frew items but this is perfect as it clears old stock from their bulging warehouse and they can use them as promotion and hopefully hook new and old phans again. We would like to see these made available for all comic conventions and showbag sellers around Australia. The retail price of the pieces sold separately is roughly $35AU and these are being sold for $30AU at the show. A breakdown of the bag is: Regular comic: $4.20 Kid Phantom comic: $7.95 Kid Phantom mask: $4.00 Eden Poster: estimate $10 Regal Publishers sticker: $3.00 Gallery trading card pack: $4.00 Bookmark: $2.00 Will you be attending the show and buying a showbag or ten? We believe they will be sold online eventually as well. Thanks to super phan Jon Cookson for the news.

The results for the 2021 Fantomen Best Cover has been released in Fantomen 16/2022 and the winner is issue 1/2021 by Henrik Sahlström. 320 phans voted in total and the winning cover got 40% of those. Interesting it is 100 less than last years vote (2019 had 254 votes) and it is such an overwhelming result between first and second place - almost 30% (84 votes). Second place was 21/2021 again by Henrik Shalström featuring his tribute cover to Claes Reimerthi. Third place was 10-11/2021 by Luca Erbetta. 64% (206 out of 320) of all voters voted for these three covers. The full list of results is below. What cover did you vote for?

A few days ago I returned from Germany after a short vacation. While visiting cities like Berlin and Leipzig, I also used the opportunity to look for the new Phantom publications. Germany has a Phantom tradition. It is mostly linked to the Bastei Verlag, which published several series during the 1970s and 1980s. In the various Bastei magazines and books, you could read American newspaper stories, Phantom comic book stories published on license for Italy, Sweden and the United States and new stories for a German readership. Since the Bastei comics stopped publishing, only a few Phantom comics have been released in Germany. This year the situation is changing. Both Wick Comics and Zauberstern Comics have started separate comics series, and a book about The Phantom by Christian Blees has been published by Edition Alfons (review to come). Zauberstern Comics #1 review Wick Comics #1 review There is a large and varied output of comics in several genres in the German language. Comics are distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and some titles can also be found outside these countries in specialty stores. Many internet based book stores also sell comics in German. In Germany, comics are easy to find if you know where to look. Many supermarkets sell some comics, but most of them are the ones meant for young children. These comics are often wrapped in plastic with a toy. The big deal for comics in Germany, is to check out the railway stations. The bigger railway stations have news agencies (German: Bahnhofskiosk) selling newspapers, books, magazines and various comics. It is here you go to find German language comics such as Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, superhero comics, manga and French-Belgian titles such as Tintin, Spirou, Lucky Luke and Asterix. The Phantom comic books from Zauberstern are also sold at these news agencies, and I will say that they were easy to find during my visit. I also found some copies in specialty stores for comics. The Phantom comics from Wick Comics were not that easy to find. The best bet is to order them directly from the publisher. I visited several speciality stores for comics in both Berlin and Leipzig, and they were not for sale in any of them. Nor did I find the Silberpfeil or Bastei Freunde titles published by Wick Comics. In one of the comics shops I visited in Berlin, I was told that the Phantom comics from Wick Comics were sold out, but that they would reorder for customers. The same situation was for The Phantom book by Christian Blees. It was not to be found in any of the stores I visited. Several shops had already sold their copies and were going to reorder books from the publishers. Two of the shop owners told me that this was unpredicted. They did not believe in advance that the copies would be sold so quickly. The Phantom is on the rise in Germany. Perhaps the character is going to become more than a cult hero in Central Europe? Time will show.

Do you live in or around Melbourne and love hanging around Phantom phans & Phantom creators? If so, this meet up will tickle you purple! Thanks to phaithful phew phans living in or around Melbourne they are opening up a meeting between phans and creators on Sunday 31st July 2022 at the Club Kilsyth located at 1-15 Canterbury Road, Bayswater North Victoria 3153 at 11:30am. From what we understand, Frew creators in cover artist Grange Wallis, writer & artist Matt Kyme and Frew writer Duncan Munro will all be attending. We believe even a member of team Chronicle Chamber will be in attendance - if he can get himself out of the car! What also makes this phan catchup even more special is that Bradley and his super supporting wife Joyful Peach will be there with their Phantomised RV designed by Grange Wallis. Only a few phans have seen it in real life so here is your chance to get a photo with this statement piece. Below are some photos of the few lucky phans. If you would like to attend please contact phans Terry Krahe and Bradley Peach on Facebook. This could be the chance for many to agree on what a collective noun of many Phantom phans are called. If you are organising a phan catch up in your country, city or area, let us know so we can help you promote it.

Phans were intrigued with the story about Bret Blevins the man helping out drawing the strips in Mike Manley's absence. However Chronicle Chamber can also now announce that Bret is only one of the ghost artists stepping into Mike's shoes and the second artist is Scott Cohn. Both have worked hard to continue the strip and we owe them. What we understand is that Bret Blevins drew the whole strip from the 13th of June to the 25th of June and again 4th of July to the 9th of July. For the other times, Bret did the layouts based on Tony DePaul's script and then Scott Cohn tightens the roughs, inked and lettered the strip. These dates are 27th of June to the 2nd of July and the 11th of June until Mike picks up the mantle again. A good example of Cohn over Bret's layouts is below which you can see on Scotts Twitter, Instagram and or Facebook accounts. The first image is the layout of the Wednesday 13 July 2022 strip by Bret and the second image is what it looks like after Scot has finished. It is also worth mentioning that Monday 11 July was the first time Scott Cohn was credited on the strip. Bret Blevins was never credited on the strip. We can announce that Mike Manley is back working on the Daily newspaper adventures. As suggested in our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #223 we believe his first strip will be the end of July or early August. Scott Cohn has known Mike for 30 years and Bret Blevins has known Mike for 40+ years. Their friendship has seen them help each other countless times in the past and probably will again in the future as all three continue their artistic careers. Because of their lifetime friendships, they happily helped out a mate in need and we phans have a lot to be thankful for. Thanks must go to Scott Cohn and Mike Manley for their time explaining to us about their relationship between themselves but also how Scott and Bret ensured the daily newspaper stories continued. They deserve a good mark imprinted on their wrists from a grateful Phantom and his loyal phans.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Fantomen issue - 2022/14-15 which features the following stories: "The Phantom in Almedalen" by Mikael Sol and Kim W Andersson "King of Chicago Pt1 & 2" by Lennart Moberg and Hans Lindahl "Phantom World" by Lee Falk, Sy Barry, George Olesen and Eric Doescher Kim W Andersson is not only doing his first full length Phantom story but also his first Fantomen cover, I like it, it has an action shot and feels a bit different to most covers. I have read some comments on social media and after I read it I might agree that the head looks a bit weird. In the main story written by the old editor Mikael Sol and art by Kim W Andersson Phantom comes back to Sweden! To Almedalen on Gotland, the biggest Swedish island, every election year all the politicians gather there and talk to the public, The Phantom and Dar from the Eastern Dark are there. I must say that the story is very heavy on humour. Dar is a comic relief more than an actual threat, I think this might divide the opinion of many phans, myself? I enjoy it but would not want every issue to be this lighthearted. Again from what I have read online it seems that a lot of phans did not enjoy this at all, a lot of negativity about this story. The real life Almedals week ended in a murder, very tragic. We will also get a reprint of Team Fantomen's "King of Chicago", a two parter about Al Capone and the 19th Phantom written by Lennart Moberg and art by Hans Lindahl. This one is so great, and the recoloring makes it even better. Rounding off this issue is Sy Barry's last Sunday story "Phantom World", this one starts off quite fun, but it makes little sense to me that the pilots would be staying several months while the Phantom is sleeping. Comes back home and Diana and the kids are not very worried, I guess the Phantom often is away for several months without a word but still. Next Fantomen issue will be a new first with Jacob Habincs first full length Phantom story "The Valley of a Thousand Graves" with art by returning phan phav artists Alex Saviuk plus an old Eralp reprint story "Drama in the Desert". Until then, Happy Phantoming! All Fantomen reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos.

We took the plunge and updated the design of the website. It has been a number of years since the website was last redesigned. Some may miss the jungle background but we are hoping this new design will be with us for a while and it is helpful for phans as they keep up to date with the latest news, reviews and interviews from around the world. If anyone spots any errors or problems please let us know. Feedback is also welcomed.

Three young bucks, artists Jamie Johnson, Daniel Picciotto and Camillo Di Pietrantonio are going to band together in an 'online studio session' to raise funds for Unicef. This comes on the back of several other artists who have done similar phundraising. You can learn about the phundraiser (fundraiser) campaign Chronicle Chamber have been involved with on X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #214A. All three artists have credits for Frew, Ninja Turtles plus much more and have a healthy rival at Supanova and Comic Con conventions with their sketch offs and have agreed to do another with us hosting it with a Phantom theme. If you would like to participate and attend the event, we are selling 25 tickets for $20 each (one per person). These 25 people will also be in the running for one of the three drawings that are drawn on the night. Tickets can be purchased by emailing us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com. The sketch off will be on Wednesday 18 May at 7:30pm AEST. To work out your timezone, click this link. Once tickets are reserved and brought, instructions on how to join the evening will be sent to you. The full evening will be recorded for a podcast to be released at a later date. Guests will be able to ask questions as they draw. The event will be hosted by Duncan Munro.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Fantomen issue - 2022/13 which features the following stories: "Femme Fatal" by Andreas Eriksson and Ivan Rodriguez "Terror at the Opera" by Lee Falk, Elizabeth Falk, George Olesen & Keith Williams A quite different cool cover from Henrik Sahlström. The main story is by Andreas Eriksson and Ivan Rodriguez "Femme Fatal", that was first published in Frew #1909, I enjoyed this story a lot, the street smart head character plays the Phantom so well understanding his weakness. The issue also includes Lee Falks last newspaper story that was finished by Elizabeth, art by George Olesen and Keith Williams. "Terror at the Opera", so we finally get the Phantom of the Opera… I think the story is quite strong if you think about the circumstances in which it was written. Next issue will feature a comeback, Phantom is coming back to Sweden! This time to Gotland, the biggest Swedish island, every election year all the politicians gather there and talk to the public, this time it seems that the Phantom will also join in. We will also get a reprint of Team Fantomens "King of Chicago", a two parter about Al Capone and the 19th Phantom. Rounding off the comic will also feature Sy Barry's last Sunday story "Phantom World". Until then, Happy Phantoming! All Fantomen reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos.

When Ray Moore went to war, his friend Wilson McCoy took over the artistic duties of creating the Phantom strip. When Moore came back, he tried to resume drawing the Phantom, but a war injury made it difficult, so then McCoy returned and continued as the artist until his death in 1961. During his tenure on the strip, McCoy took his job as the Phantom artist very seriously and once said “Maybe the Phantom is my subconscious self finding an outlet.” He had a special skull ring made for his personal use and he created the clay model of the Phantom which Moore is shown holding in a publicity photo. There were times when in response to request, McCoy sent original art from his strips to fans who requested them. He also created a special certificate with a Phantom seal, which he designed and autographed. The certificate was witnessed by his wife Dorothy (who also contributed to the strip by ruling and lettering the panels and modeling as Diana’s mother). These documents were sent to Phantom fans who wrote to McCoy, and verified that the fan was a member of an exclusive club. Very few are known to exist today and rarest of all are examples with the autographs and the gold seal. Another very special rare version of the document was created just for Christmas. (Although knock off of these documents have been reproduced, the originals are on aged paper with a watermark that makes them impossible to copy.) #RayMoore #WilsonMcCoy